Cigarette



1965 F. H. LASSITER ETAL 3,159,535

CIGARETTE Filed Jan. 18, 1962 INVENTORS. HffiEF/C Muss/r52 dd :05 M Kim United States Patent 3,169,535 CIGARETTE Frederic H. Limiter, 527 Lexington Ave., New York, N.Y., and Jacob M. Fain, Brooklyn, N.Y.; said Fain assignor to said Lassiter Filed In. 18, 1962, Ser. No. 167,482 4 Claims. (Cl. 131-10) This invention relates to an improved cigarette and is a continuation-in-part of our copending application Serial No. 8,299, filed February 12, 1960, for Cigarette.

Tobacco smoke carries alkaloids, such as nicotine, combustion products thereof and tars, which are considered to be undesirable. The alkaloids and tars carried by cigarette smoke are deposited on the unburned tobacco of the cigarette as the smoke is drawn through the cigarette, with the result that the tobacco acts as an effective filter for these harmful ingredients of the tobacco smoke. However, as the burning end of the cigarette progresses along the length of the cigarette, the entrapped alkaloids and tars are again released into the cigarette smoke with the result that their concentrations in the tobacco at the non-burning or butt end of the cigarette and in the smoke entering the smokers mouth are progressively increased.

This action is even more pronounced in the case of the so-called king size cigarette than in the case of a regular cigarette, when smoked to the same butt length, since a greater quantity of smoke has passed through the unburned tobacco.

Numerous types of filters have been proposed. and quite a number of different types commercially exploited. for the purpose of entrapping the harmful alkaloids and tars carried by cigarette smoke. The different types of filters which have been proposed vary in effectiveness.

with some of th m being somewhat more effective than the same amount of tobacco in the same length of the cigarette. However, the various filters cannot completely nullify the progressive increase in concentration of the alkaloids and tars in the cigarette smoke as the cigarette is smoked to shorter and shorter lengths.

The ideal point at which to discontinue the smoking of a cigarette is obviously the point at which the burning end of the cigarette begins to nullify the filtering action of the unburned tobacco and that of the filter of the cigarette, if one is present. Even though the smoker may be well aware of these facts. he usually finds difficulty in remembering to discontinue smoking a cigarette when preoccupied with work, conversation, amusements, etc.

Various devices have been proposed for reminding the smoker of a cigarette that he should discontinue the smoking of a cigarette when it is smoked to the length at which the progressive increase of the alkaloids and tars in the smoke becomes high.

Various warning and marker devices have heretofore been proposed for the purpose of warning a smoker to abandon the smoking of a cigarette at a point at which the concentration of the alkaloids and tars in the smoke begins to rise rapidly due to again being released into the cigarette smoke after having been deposited on the tobacco during the initial smoking of the cigarette. The use of a visual marker on the side of the cigarette has been proposed for this purpose. Such a marker is of limited value since a preoccupied smoker seldom glances at the cigarette he is smoking and, in any case, can readily judge the proportion of a cigarette he has smoked merely by glancing at the cigarette without the help of such a marker.

Again, it has been suggested that a material be incorporated into the cigarette tobacco which changes the taste or odor or both of the tobacco smoke when the burning tip of the cigarette approaches the point at which It has been suggested that the warning odor or taste L can be produced in either of two different ways. A non-volatile material can be incorporated into the cigarette at the warning point, which produces a distinctive odor or taste when it burns. Cystine, a sulfur containing amino acid found in proteins, tallow, cork and rubber have been suggested for this purpose. Each of the materials gives off a disagreeable odor or taste upon combus-' tion. which is both quite unpleasant to the smoker as a warning and completely prevents him from continuing to smoke the cigarette beyond the warning point should he desire to do so, since the smoke of the cigarette will continue to have the disagreeable taste of the combustion product of the Warning material. The selection of a non-volatile material which produces combustion products having an odor or taste which is pleasant and yet distinctively different from that of cigarette smoke is inherently a very difficult problem, since the combustion products are either generally similar in odor and taste to those of tobacco or unpleasant in taste and odor.

The alternative way in which to produce a warning of this type is to incorporate a material into the cigarette which is sufficiently volatile to be evaporated without thermal decomposition by the increased temperature created by the close approach of the burning tip of the cigarette. Menthol and thymol have been suggested as materials suitable for this purpose. These materials can provide a pleasant odor and taste, but are not effective as warnings for the reason that they migrate through the of the material.

merely cigarettes of the mentholated type.

Cigarettes of the mentholated type have been in com- 7 mercial production for many years. Upon first smoking cigarettes of this type, they have a distinctive flavor of menthol which is pleasant to many people. However, when they are continually smoked, the senses of odor and taste of the smoker soon becomes numbed to the odor and taste involved, and the value of the flavoring is nullified.

It is an object of this invention to provide a cigarette which provides a reminder to stop smoking the cigarette at a predetermined point by the introduction of a pleasant, definitely noticeable, odor or taste into the smoke of the cigarette when the burning tip of the cigarette approaches the predetermined point.

A further object is to provide a cigarette which provides the usual tobacco smoke during the initial stages of its being smoked, and then during the later stages in troduces a distinctive flavor into the smoke which serves the dual purpose of providing a refreshing flavor to Patented Feb. 16, 1965 which the taste of the smoker has not been numbed and of masking the progressive harshness of the natural flavor of the tobacco smoke as the cigarette becomes progressively shorter.

Another object of this invention is to provide a pleasant and distinctly noticeable warning to discard the cigarette and at the same time provide a refreshing, pleasant flavor to the smoke to which the smoker has not become immune.

Other objects of this invention and its various advantages will become apparent from the detailed description of this invention which follows:

The cigarette in accordance with this invention comprises a tubular paper wrapper filled with tobacco which is impregnated with a slightly volatile high-boiling flavoring material and a filter tip which carries a solid retarding agent, which prevents the volatile flavoring material from being carried out of the cigarette into the smoke during the initial stages of the smoking of the cigarette and in the later stages of the smoking of the cigarette permits the flavoring material to enter the tobacco smoke for the purpose of providing a refreshing and pleasant reminder that it is desirable to discard the cigarette or of masking the increasing harshness of the cigarette smoke as the cigarette is smoked to progressively shorter lengths.

The flavoring material which forms an essential component of this cigarette may be, for example, menthol, thymol, terpin hydrate, oil of Wintergreen, oil of peppermint, oil of spearmint, other essential oils, or mixtures thereof.

The solid retarding agent which is carried by the filter tip of the cigarette in accordance with this invention may be any powdered, non-toxic solid which has the property of absorbing volatile material from a gas stream. Activated carbon, silica gel, activated alumina, and similar materials are suitable solid retarding agents. A number of different grades of activated carbon, which are commercially available are well adapted for this use.

In addition to the solid retarding agent carried by the filter tip of this cigarette, the tobacco itself may contain a liquid retarding agent which is a slightly volatile, highboiling solvent for the flavoring material, which is somewhat more volatile than the flavoring-material itself and is tasteless, odorless and non-toxic and which has an appreciable vapor pressure at the temperature which it reaches during the smoking of the cigarette. Suitable solvents for this purpose are ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, propylene glycol and glycerol. Of the polyhydric alcohols, propylene glycol is preferred since its vapor pressure, together with its other requisite properties render it ideally suited for use in the cigarette of this invention.

All of the tobacco of the cigarette may be impregnated with the flavoring-material and, if one is used, with the liquid retarding agent. In an alternative form of this cigarette a zone of its tobacco, no nearer the end of the cigarette to be ignited than the approximate mid-point of the cigarette, may be impregnated with a solution of the flavoring material in the liquid retarding agent.

The filter tip of the cigarette in accordance with this invention, may carry a solid retarding agent throughout its entire length. Alternatively, the filter tip may consist of two cylindrical sections which may or may not be separated by an air space. The section of this filter adjacent the tobacco of the cigarette carries a solid retarding agent, while the outer section of the filter may be, for example, of the cellulosic type which provides a great plurality of parallel channels for the passage of the smoke. Again, it may be merely an open-ended, hollow cylinder of light cardboard. Tlrs dual type of filter tip has the advantage of eliminating any possibility for the solid retarding agent to enter the smokers mouth during the smoking of the cigarette.

During the smoking of this cigarette, the flavoring material vaporizes as the hot gasses pass through the impregnated tobacco or the impregnated zone thereof, and is entrapped by the retarding agent and prevented from leaving the cigarette until such time as the concentration of the flavoring material builds up to a level which the retarding agent can no longer retain. After this level of concentration is reached, the flavoring material then enters the smokers mouth.

In the smoking of the alternative forms of this cigarette, which carry a liquid retarding agent in the tobacco, the liquid retarding agent reinforces the action of the solid retarding agent in the filter tip by retarding the escape of the flavoring material from the tobacco of the cigarette, and by furnishing additional capacity to absorb the vaporized flavoring material as it is volatilized and recondensed in the cooler portions of the cigarette.

Alternative forms of the cigarette in accordance with this invention are illustrated by the accompanying drawing, in which like reference characters are used to refer to like parts wherever they occur. In the drawing:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a filter cigarette in accordance with this invention which carries tobacco impregnated with a flavoring material and a filter tip which carries a solid retarding agent.

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of a filter cigarette which has a single zone of its tobacco impregnated with a flavoring material or with a solution of a flavoring material in a liquid retarding agent and a filter tip which carries a solid retarding agent.

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of a filter cigarette which has one zone of its tobacco impregnated with a flavoring material and a second zone impregnated with a liquid retarding agent and a filter tip which carries a solid retarding agent.

FIGURE 4 is a side, broken view of a filter tip which may be used as an alternative filter tip in the embodiments of this invention illustrated by FIGURES 1, 2 and 3.

FIGURE 5 is a side, broken view of a filter tip which may be used as a second alternative filter tip in the embodiments illustrated by FIGURES 1, 2 and 3.

FIGURE 6 is a side, broken view of a filter tip which may be used as a third alternative filter tip in the embodiments illustrated by FIGURES 1, 2 and 3.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 1 designates generally a paper wrapper surrounding a column of tobacco 2. The numeral 3 of FIGURES 1, 2 and 3 designates a filter tip carrying a powdered. solid retarding agent. The solid retarding agent is carried and retained in position by a filter material which may be cellulosic fibers, cellulose acetate fibers, or folded paper. The quantity of the retarding agent carried by the filter tip is determined by its density and by its activity in absorbing a flavoring material. Of the various powdered solid retarding agents which may be used in the filter tip of this cigarette, activated carbon is particularly suitable. It has been found that about fifteen milligrams to about forty milligrams of activated carbon can be included in a filter tip section 3 or 7 of satisfactory size. Thirty milligrams of activated carbon is fully retained by the filter tip section and is an optimum quantity for this purpose.

There are many grades of activated carbon on the market. An investigation of the effectiveness of the various grades of activated carbon has revealed the fact that a mixture of an activated carbon which has an appreciable fraction of its area in small pores, such as, for example, that soldunder the trade name Darco HDB," with an activated carbon which has an appreciable area in larger pores, such as that sold under the trade name Darco GFP is more efiective than either alone. It is believed that the activated carbon with the small pores is particularly efiective in absorbing tobacco smoke constituents of low molecular weight, while that with the larger pores is the more eflective in absorbing the high molecular weight constituents.

In the embodiment of the cigarette illustrated by FIG- URE 1, the column of tobacco 2 is impregnated throughout its length with a flavoring agent. It may also carry a -liquid retarding agent which also acts as a humectant.

In the embodiment of the cigarette illustrated by FIG- URE 2, the flavoring agent is restricted to the zone 4 near the midpoint of the tobacco column. This zone 4 may also carry a liquid retarding agent. The zone 4 of the cigarette illustrated by FIGURE 3 also carries a flavoring agent and may or may not carry a liquid retarding agent. The zone 5 of the cigarette illustrated by FIGURE 3 carries a liquid retarding agent.

FIGURES 4, 5 and 6 show, in cross-section, dual filter tips which may be used as alternatives to the single filter tip of the cigarettes illustrated by FIGURES 1, 2 and 3. Referring specifically to FIGURE 4, the filter tip 6 consists of two sections. The inner section 7, adjacent the tobacco of the cigarette, consists of a fibrous cellulosic material admixed with a powdered solid retarding agent, while the outer section 8 consists merely of a filter material illustrated as folded paper, which carries no solid retarding agent.

The filter tip illustrated by FIGURE 5, like that illustrated by FIGURE 4, has an inner filter section 7 which carries a solid retarding agent and an outer filter section 8. The filter sections 7 and 8 of this filter tip are separated by an air space 9. The filter tip illustrated by FIG- URE 6 consists of an inner section 7 which carries a solid retarding agent, and an outer section 10 which consists of a stiff cardboard hollow cylinder.

The section 7 of each of the filter tips illustrated by FIGURES 4, 5 and 6 carry the same quantity of a powdered solid retarding agent as the entire filter tip 3 of the embodiments of this cigarette illustrated by FIGURES 1, 2 and 3.

The quantity of flavoring material included in the tobacco column 2 of the cigarette will be approximately the same whether it is distributed throughout the entire column of tobacco, as in the case of the cigarette illustrated by FIGURE 1, or confined to the zone 4, as in the case of the cigarette illustrated by FIGURES 2 and 3. The amount of the flavoring material included can be varied over a relatively wide range. It has been found .that five milligrams is an optimum quantity of menthol for use in a cigarette which carries thirty milligrams of activated carbon.

The quantity of liquid retarding agent which is included in the zone 5 of the cigarette illustrated by FIGURE 3 may vary over a relatively wide range. In general, the quantity added to the zone 5 will fall within the range of about ten milligrams to about one hundred fifty milligrams. About ninety milligrams is usually satisfactory for forming this zone.

The butt length at which the smoke passing through the filter tip into the mouth of the smoker begins to carry the flavoring material into the mouth of the smoker, can be adjusted by adjusting the relative proportions of the flavoring material and of the solid retarding agent carried by the filter tip. In the case of a cigarette carrying the optimum quantities of menthol (5 milligrams) and of activated carbon (30 milligrams) mentioned hereinbefore, the flavor of the menthol is so light when beginning to smoke the cigarette that it is not noticeable. It becomes noticeable when the cigarette is about one-half consumed and serves as a warning that the smoking of the cigarette should be discontinued.

In the foregoing, a series of specific embodiments of the improved cigarette have been described, and specific examples of the flavoring materials and the solid or liquid retarding agents which may be used have been given, together with details as to the quantities which have been found suitable. These specific examples and details have been given for the purpose of fully illustrating and ex plaining the invention and it will be understood that many changes can be made in these details without departing from the spirit of our invention or the scope of the following claims.

6 We claim: 1. A filter cigarette having a tubular paper wrapper filled with tobacco which carries a volatile high-boiling flavoring material, and a filter tip which carries a mixture of two different activated carbons, one of which has an thereafter providing smoke which is noticeably flavored by the said flavoring material.

2. A filter cigarette having a tubular paper wrapper filled with tobacco which carries a volatile high-boiling flavoring material, and a filter tip which has a zone adjacent the tobacco of the cigarette which carries a mixture of two different activated carbons, one of which has an appreciable proportion of its area in small pores being effective to absorb low molecular weight constituents of tobacco smoke and the other of which has an appreciable part of its area in large pores being effective to absorb high molecular weight constituents of tobacco smoke, and an outer end zone which is free of the activated carbon, the said flavoring material being present in a concentration such that the cigarette provides tobacco smoke during the initial phase of its burning which is substantially free of the said flavoring material, and thereafter providing .smoke which is noticeably flavored by the said flavoring material.

3. A filter cigarette having a tubular paper wrapper filled with tobacco which carries a volatile high-boiling flavoring material, and a filter tip which has a zone adjacent the tobacco of the cigarette which carries a mixture of two different activated carbons, one of which has an appreciable proportion of its area in small pores being effective to absorb low molecular weight constituents of tobacco smoke and the other of which has an appreciable part of its area in large pores being effective to absorb high molecular weight constituents of tobacco smoke, an intermediate air space and an outer end zone which are free of said activated carbon, the said flavoring material being present in a concentration such that the cigarette provides tobacco smoke during the initial phase of its burning which is substantially free of the said flavoring material, and thereafter providing smoke which is noticeably flavored by the said flavoring material.

4. A filter tip cigarette having a tubular paper wrapper filled with tobacco which carries a volatile high-boiling flavoring material, and a filter tip which has a zone adjacent the tobacco of the cigarette filled with a filter material which carries a mixture of two different activated carbons, one of which has an appreciable proportion of its area in small pores being effective to absorb low molecular weight constituents of tobacco smoke and the other of which has an appreciable part of its area in large pores being effective to absorb high molecular weight constituents of tobacco smoke, and an outer end zone which is an air space within a hollow cardboard cylinder, the said flavoring material being present in a concentration such that the cigarette provides tobacco smoke during the initial phase of its burning which is substantially free of the said flavoring material, and thereafter providing smoke which is noticeably flavored by the said flavoring material.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,985,840 12/34 Sadtler 13117X 2,063,014 12/36 Allen l3117 (Other references on following page) 7 UNITED STATES PATENTS 1/58 Burbig 131--1-5 12/59 Sehur 131----10 10/61 Keaton 131--15 FOREIGN PATENTS 12/52 Austria.

11/55 GreatBritain. 8/57 Great Britain.

8 4/58 Great Britain. 9/57 Switzerland.

OTHER REFERENCES Readers Digest, July 1957, "The Facts Behind Filter- Iip Cigarettes," pages 33 to 39, Miller and M00911!- SAMUEL KOREN, Primary Examiner. MELVIN I). REIN, ABRAHAM G. STONE, Examiners. 

2. A FILTER CIGARETTE HAVING A TUBULAR PAPER WRAPPER FILLED WITH TOBACCO WHICH CARRIES A VOLATILE HIGH-BOILING FLAVORING MATERIAL, AND A FILTER TIP WHICH HAS A ZONE ADJACENT THE TOBACCO OF THE CIGARETTE WHICH CARRIES A MIXTURE OF TWO DIFFERENT ACTIVATED CARBONS, ONE OF WHICH HAS AN APPRECIABLE PROPORTION OF ITS AREA IN SMALL PORES BEING EFFECTIVE TO ABSORB LOW MOLECULAR WEIGHT CONSTITUENTS OF TOBACCO SMOKE AND THE OTHER OF WHICH HAS AN APPRECIABLE PART OF ITS AREA IN LARGE PORES BEING EFFECTIVE TO ABSORB HIGH MOLECULAR WEIGHT CONSTITUENTS OF TOBACCO SMOKE, AND AN OUTER END ZONE WHICH IS FREE OF THE ACTIVATED CARBON, THE SAID FLAVORING MATERIAL BEING PRESENT IN A CONCENTRATION SUCH THAT THE CIGARETTE PROVIDES TOBACCO SMOKE DURING THE INITIAL PHASE OF ITS BURNING WHICH IS SUBSTANTIALLY FREE OF THE SAID FLAVORING MATERIAL, AND THEREAFTER PROVIDING SMOKE WHICH IS NOTICEABLY FLAVORED BY THE SAID FLAVORING MATERIAL. 